Jazz Trio Recordings

Back with more straight-ahead jazz recordings. This is a new trio that just formed today actually. I've been working with Jason Thomas [alto saxophone] for about 2 months and now Scot Sommers [trumpet] has joined the group, resulting in an eclectic trio.

We're playing standards out of the real book for now but I plan on composing tunes so that we can start to have originals as well. I plan on having the group play some open mics at Petie's Place, located in Tarzana, CA.

This is the beginning of something. I actually wanted to get a bass player rather than another horn but this is a great playing situation. Scot's style reminds me of Freddie Hubbard in Dolph's Out to Lunch. He's actually not a free jazz guy at all, which surprised me. Jason's alto playing is stellar, he was a lot more relaxed once Scot's trumpet entered the mix. Before when we were playing as just a duo, we were playing a lot more conservatively, more reserved.

On my solos, you can see where I was on the very edge of my seat, about to lose control. Sometimes its good to see that spontaneity, especially in jazz music. A lot of what we played in terms of the free form improvisational jams [not the standards], it sounded like a lot of ECM stuff I've heard. A very white kind of sound, literally. [laughs]

Enjoy the music.

https://soundcloud.com/user-294063763/all-blues-jazz-trio
https://soundcloud.com/user-294063763/first-jam-jazz-trio
https://soundcloud.com/user-294063763/footprints
https://soundcloud.com/user-294063763/freddie-freeloader-jazz-trio
https://soundcloud.com/user-294063763/second-jam-jazz-trio
https://soundcloud.com/user-294063763/third-jam-jazz-trio

Out Front

Out Front is a jazz record from March 1961 by Booker Little and his quartet featuring Max Roach (drums). Also on the album are Eric Dolphy (alto sax, bass clarinet, flute) Art Davis (bass), Ron Carter (bass), Don Friedman (piano), and Julian Preister (trombone). I wanted to write about this album because its a terrific record, very polished for 1961. I was curious to hear it because it featured Eric Dolphy (everyone knows the live Dolphy record with Booker Little at the Five Spot) and Max Roach on the same album, something I had not heard before. And it was totally worth it.

Booker Little was only 23 and died later that year in 1961. These seven tunes are worthy enough to be replayed and preserved by a modern jazz group, that's how good it is. Eric Dolphy's playing isn't as free as it usually is here. In fact, most of what you hear here sounds like arrangements complete with piano, bass, trumpet, trombone, alto sax, flute, bass clarinet, and drums. Its quite a full sound. Not quite big band but not quite quartet either. It reminds me of something Mingus would record although not as technical. In fact, I would say that although this music is challenging for the soloists, the music is much more emotive than technical. There's humanity to this jazz, quite a lot of it. This element is sorely missing in today's modern straight ahead and sometimes free-jazz scenes. Its blues even though there's complicated arrangements.

The music has room to breathe. There's a sense of blues to all the pieces although a lot of the heads sound like bebop riffs from the 50's. I want to say it sounds orchestral as well. They are definitely playing to well organized charts and doing a spectacular job laying down the groove and getting the right tones. 

With song titles like We Speak, Strength and Sanity, Quiet Please, Moods in Free Time, Man of Words, Hazy Hues, and A New Day you would think this is either a free jazz album or some kind of progressive jazz record. It is quite a progressive jazz album but not free jazz. However, it was definitely new and innovative in 1961, that's for sure.

The solos here are spectacular. Dolphy's style is recognizable as always. Instead of going too far outside the changes, instead here he plays to the song's tonality, meaning he doesn't go off into the realms of the netherworld like on some of his own records. There's a feeling of respectability to the composer and he stuck to the song. The solos aren't long but are rewarding. This is about tunes, not so much about blowing, like the 50's bebop records. Although there is definitely a bebop influence here in the playing, especially the drums, I would say that Booker Little is also trying to find his own sound, style, vernacular if you will. I would say he achieves this with his sounds.

I found this CD on the library servers and ordered it. It was so good I downloaded it onto my computer. Its a shame Booker Little died so young, he would've gone on to have a great career in jazz. In a lot of ways I see how this sort of music inspired the modern jazz crowd of today. In fact, a lot of modern straight ahead jazz today sounds much like this music. There's detailed, written out arrangements, soloists, and they try to put as much humanity into the music as possible, no matter how technical the music is.

Its damn good!

Dan Bruce Beta Collective live at the Constellation

Last night I saw a pretty cool jazz band with my bro. I looked up shows around Chicago and I noticed that my jazz instructor (from six years ago when I was at University of Parkside-Wisconsin) Russ Johnson was playing with this band at this modern jazz club called the Constellation. Russ is a great trumpet players that is involved with various groups probably all around the Midwest and New York. He's pretty well known in the jazz community. Anyways, the group is led by a guitarist composer named Dan Bruce and the band features Russ Johnson (trumpet), Chris Madsen (tenor saxophone), Rob Clearfield (keyboards), Clark Sommers (bass), Jon Dietemyer (drums).

We only stayed for the first set because we took two buses and the train and it took like an hour and a half to get there. In addition, my brother has work in the morning. However, that first set was pretty great! Dan Bruce took the majority of the solos but there was a great tenor sax solo that was just about reaching into free jazz territory. I heard some squeaks! It was great hearing that because this is more of a new jazz concert. By that I mean the music sounds very modal and its all original music. This was an album release concert after at. Very few people in attendance. Think Ole Coltrane if it had electric guitar, effects, and electronic keyboards. For the most part they were reading the music off manuscript paper but it was obvious when they went off the cuff and started to truly improvise.

Dan Bruce is a great guitar player with plenty of chops but it seemed like his improvisations were a little too perfect. Too rehearsed. I would've liked to hear some mistakes from him. I like to hear some struggle sometimes from jazz musicians. That's not to say he isn't a good improviser at all because what I heard was all great stuff, very musical and tasty as they say. I would say I was more impressed with his chord voicings and comping rather than say his composing ability or single note lines. I thought it was cool that he was using some electronic effects with his guitar too. I wish he would've used more of that, at least during the first set. After all whats the point of effects if you're only going to use them very sparingly?

Chris Madsen on tenor sax had a great solo that really stood out. There was a musical buildup slowly to a climax with squeaks thrown in there. It almost seemed like what he was playing was out of time, out of sync with the band but it still sounded great. He was even doing this blowing technique where you blow very lightly into the horn and get this sort of raspy tone. He also had a lot of bebop licks thrown in there too. That was a turning point at that part of the set.

Russ Johnson was mostly playing in harmony (melodies) with the guitar and sax but he did have a pretty great solo on the last tune. I was pretty impressed. He's the elder statemen of the band being the oldest so he probably has the most experience in playing jazz and he's probably been on more records and stuff than the other guys. His solo started off with a couple flubbed notes. My brother said "he needs practice" but my brother doesn't know enough about jazz to realize that what he was doing is actually a trumpet technique. I believe he was doing the same thing Madsen was doing, that technique where you blow into the horn but just barely enough to make some raspy tones.

Anyways, his solo was probably the best. He built it upon a theme, expanded upon it, and ended it with some virtuoso fast stuff. His high notes sounded superb. I used to be a trumpet player in high school so I know how difficult that is to do. His solo almost had a Spanish vibe as my brother said.

There was also a keyboards solo but I think it was more of "set the mood" sorta thing rather than a solo. And there was also a bass and drum solo but in a way they were kind of overshadowed by the compositions. It seemed like their solos were shorter than the others but I may be wrong.

After the show I talked to Dan Bruce and said,"great guitar playing man, that was like masterclass on chord voicings". I geeked out pretty hard seeing such great guitar playing. Then I asked if Russ was around and I talked to him. He remembered me from UW-Parkside, which I briefly attended about five years ago. It didn't work out at that college but the fact that I saw him at the show was probably a shock for him. Of course he asked,"what are you doing here?" Lol, it was kind of funny. We shook hands and I told him I've been practicing a lot of guitar, working on jazz standards, and that I've started a band. He said to keep shedding, a musicians catch phrase to keep practicing. Great moment of the Chicago trip so far. Who would've thought right?

It was a great set and I'm really glad my brother enjoyed it even though he isn't a fan of jazz guitar as he says. Maybe I'll get to see more great live music out here in Chicago, particularly jazz.

Jazz isn't dead. It just smells funny. -Frank Zappa